So this winter I will be sailing 505 midwinters with John Loe. Multiple-time College All-American at St. Marys, John sails all types of dinghys and keelboats. He is also a very well established match racer with whom I have saled in the past. If you are a college sailor and are looking into the 505 class, this may be of interest to you. Here is an email conversation between me and him regarding our upcoming practice session in St. Pete Florida:

*** Stay tuned to Sailgroove for some coverage from this partice session after I get back. I will be interviewing recent Europen champ and Rolex Nominee Ethan Bixby and new 505 class member and Snipe World Champion Augie Diaz who will both be training with us Jan 2-4.***

John,

This is an article that Scott Ikle wrote a long time ago for the class publication. It is a good overview of the methodology for diagnosing speed/pointing issues in a 505:

Having sailed with many different sails from many different sail makers, I'm always asked which sail is best in which conditions. My stock answer, "they all start with a different shape, but somehow they all get to about the same shape for the same conditions". You are either 'powering

up', 'powered', or 'de-powering'. This answer drives people crazy. Ali has been after me for a year now to write an article on the differences of all the sails our there. Sorry this is not it.

However, it has become clear to me that we all describe sail shape very differently, and individual understanding of sail controls even in the same boat can be greatly different. Tuning guides also can be very helpful, yet we often get fixated on the 'numbers'. Instead of a comparison of sails and tuning guides, I offer a ten step check list for speed.

- A 505 likes to be sailed with a little weather helm in light conditions and neutral helm in windy conditions. If you have too much helm, sail the boat flatter, flatten the sails, decease rake, or raise the centerboard.

- A 505 likes to be balanced in the speed/point grove up wind. If you have speed to burn, but cannot point with the pack, stand the rig up. If you are slower than the pack, and are out pointing everyone, rake back.

- If the rig is too loose, the jib is too full, and the boat cannot point. If the rig is too tight, it is hard to keep the boat in the grove.

- Sail the boat on its lines. Keep the knuckle from digging in, and keep the stern from dragging.

- When the breeze is on, the bow must be able to float freely threw the upwind grove, without the boat heeling over when driving off. The centerboard controls this feeling.

- Set the rig and main so the luff curve matches mast bend. Do not sail with overbend wrinkles.

- Start with the luff of the jib breaking evenly, if overpowered twist off so the top telltales break first.

- In light to medium conditions both sails should have small horizontal wrinkles along the luff.

- The main and jib leaches should be parallel. Be careful not to close the slot. As the wind builds and the main is twisted off with the sheet eased, twist off the jib, or open the slot.

- Keep the top batten parallel to the boom for most conditions. If you need to point, the batten could be hooked to windward. If the sail is twisted, the batten should be falling off to leeward.

- Use a jib leach telltale to judge jib sheet tension. Keep it flying. Once you are set up, find the sweet spot for the given conditions, and keep it rolling!

Scott Ikle


Previously you mentioned learning the order of operations for powering/de-powering. I think people often over-complicate 505 sailing. Most 505's have tons of strings to pull and when people who are not good sailors try to just hop in a 505 and go, they often are in way over their head. I tried to rig my boat as simple as possible without losing any critical systems.

There are 3 major control lines in the 505 that you don't see in a college dinghy or V15. Mast Rake, Shroud Tension, and Mast Ram. In a way this simplifies the tuning because mast rake and shroud tension are completely independent controls. In a college dinghy, 470, or vanguard, there is always a trade-off between mast rake and rig tension at a given pin setting. In a 505, your forestay control line dictates your mast rake, not a combination of pin setting/rig tension. This eliminates the need for rig tension/mast rake charts at each pin setting like you would see on any well sailed 470.
The forestay control is a calibrated adjustment that is marked in the boat. You will always know what mast rake you are at by reading off the scale.

The shrouds are more of a subjective adjustment. General rule of thumb is that you dont want your leeward shroud to break while going upwind with crew on the wire. As the breeze picks up and you start to ease the rig back, you pull more rig tension on to bend the mast and flatten the main. In general, you will not be making major adjustments to the mast rake/shroud tension unless there are major changes in velocity or the boat doesn't feel good.

The mast ram is not super critical. Some people get way to hung up on this adjustment. In general you pull it on more as you rake back. It controls the lower mast bend and counteracts the force of the vang.

Other than those 3 controls, it is typical dinghy sailing. Cunningham and Vang adjustments are critical and are made for more subtle changes in velocity. The leech tension is more controlled by the vang and less by the mainsheet. Unlike a college dingy or v15, where the mainsheet can hook the leech, the vang controls the leech tension in anything other than super light air.

So in terms of order of operations, here are the basics that the skipper needs to be concerned with:

The breeze is building, and the boat has too much power:

-Cunningham on
-Vang on
-Sheet the main further out from centerline
-Hike harder
-tighten shouds(maybe)
-at this point if you are still overpowered you will need to rake back and make the corresponding shroud/ram adjustments

The breeze is fading, the boat starts to feel underpowered:

-Ease cunningham
-ease vang
-Trim main closer to centerline
-loosen shrouds(maybe)
-at this point if you are still underpowered you will need to rake forward and make the corresponding shroud/ram adjustments

We will talk more about this stuff, but the key is to simplify it in your mind. If you start to feel slow it can be a major mind-fuck if you start thinking about all the variables possible. In the end it is dinghy sailing. Vang and cunningham and hiking hard.

--
Craig Thompson

John Loe Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 7:53 PM
To: Craig Thompson
Good stuff.

Only questions I still have but I am sure I can figure them out as soon as I see the ram set up are

does the ram push back on the mast from the front?

thus ram down straightens the mast and up provides more prebend?

so when vang sheeting hard, you ram down to minimize the vang induced bend, then if its real gnarly you ram up to gain max prebend? In non trapping conditions ram down hard to straighten the mast close the leaches and provide more power?

as far as rake i feel like i have a handle on that

what about cloth tension? light air slight wrinkles as it increases pull more on?

and jib wire tension or sag control? just take this out once out of light and shitty conditions

and for shroud tension as you are raking back or forward while on the water how do you know how much tension to apply. Is this done by sighting prebend or by the tension gauge while head to wind or do you just tighten so the leeward shroud is no longer dangling?

what kind of sails do you have and is there a tuning guide I can check out?

I'm spyched I think it is going to be awesome, and we are all set with the housing.

Anything I need to bring other than my sailing costume?

Let me know

John
[Quoted text hidden]
Craig Thompson Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 10:32 PM
To: John Loe
Answers/elaborations are in-line below:
On Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 7:53 PM, John Loe? wrote:
Good stuff.

Only questions I still have but I am sure I can figure them out as soon as I see the ram set up are

does the ram push back on the mast from the front?

Yes. The ram down control line is on a 15:1 purchase. When you put on vang, the boom wants to push the mast forward and bent the lower section of the mast more. The ram down control lets you control this lower mast bend.


thus ram down straightens the mast and up provides more prebend?

Exactly. Although the ram up is only used in very light air. As soon as you need to use any vang, this will prebend the mast in the same manner as a ram up control line. This is one simplification I made to the boat by ditching the ram up control. You can still prebend the mast by pushing the mast forward and inserting a quick pin in one of the holes drilled in the track. Again, this is only needed in drifter conditions.


so when vang sheeting hard, you ram down to minimize the vang induced bend,

Yes. Exactly.

then if its real gnarly you ram up to gain max prebend?

More like you just use less ram down. Think of it as only one control(down control). In anthing over 5 kts when you have the vang on, the car will automatically go up when you ease the ram(down) control line

In non trapping conditions ram down hard to straighten the mast close the leaches and provide more power?

Keep in mind that the transition from vang off to on, prebend off to ram down on, and sitting in the boat to marginal trapping all happen at close to the same time. You have the concept correct in the fact that the ram is used to hold the mast straight and maintain leech tension. Understanding the vang/ram connection and how it effects the main's shape is key, and I think you get it. It is glaringly obvious when you get in the boat and start making these adjustments.


as far as rake i feel like i have a handle on that

Good. Base is 25' 8" from mast tip to keel band, and my boat can rake back to ~24' 9" which is more than enough for 30 kts. When the rake is set correctly the boat sails itself upwind with a perfectly neutral helm. It is pretty orgasmic.


what about cloth tension? light air slight wrinkles as it increases pull more on?

Yeah. This is actually a dope setup on the boat(and most waterat 505's): The jib cloth tension automatically adjusts with the rake. The system will maintain a constant cloth tension, it is tied into the rake adjustment. It is still necessary in this case to make the adjustment in the tension for different breeze conditions, but you dont have to worry about tearing the jib when dramatically changing rake. This system you may have to see to understand.


and jib wire tension or sag control? just take this out once out of light and shitty conditions

Headstay sag is controlled by the shroud tension control. More shrouds, less headstay sag, less shrouds, more headstay sag...


and for shroud tension as you are raking back or forward while on the water how do you know how much tension to apply. Is this done by sighting prebend or by the tension gauge while head to wind or do you just tighten so the leeward shroud is no longer dangling?

Like I said this is more subjective than you may think. Fist rule of thumb when trying out a new mast rake setting is to pull the shrouds on so that the leward shroud doesnt dangle. After this you need to start looking at headstay sag and mast bend to get a better idea. In breeze it is kind of a feel adjustment as if you dont have enough on, the jib will be too full and the boat will feel like shit. Its hard to have too much rig tension on when its cranking.

what kind of sails do you have and is there a tuning guide I can check out?

Well i have a north and a glaser kit. The tuning is relatively similar for both. I find glasers are much harder and less forgiving as they are a deeper cut. We will talk about what we want to use when we get down there. The North upwind sails are in B+ condition and I have a brand new north kite which has never been used. The glaser upwind sails are in B condition, but I also have a brand new glaser jib that has never been used. My glaser kite is in C condition. So we will likely be using the new kite regardless. Like I mentioned, we have choices in this department.


I'm psyched I think it is going to be awesome, and we are all set with the housing.

Thanks again for the housing.


Anything I need to bring other than my sailing costume?

I have all the boat/spare stuff on lock down. Do you have hiking pants? I would wear those in most any conditions ofther than super light and hot. Also, try to score some non-aigle boots if you can. The hiking straps are phatty and clunking around in hard soled boots can delam the floor. Also, no board shorts with grommets or zippers on the ass that are going to scratch up the tanks. Sorry, I am just anal about the boat now that it has been pimped.